Spatial variation of throughfall volume in an old-growth tropical wet forest, Costa Rica

Journal of Tropical Ecology - Tập 18 Số 3 - Trang 397-407 - 2002
Henry W. Loescher1, Jennifer S. Powers2, Steven F. Oberbauer3
1School of Forest Resources and Conservation, 118 Newins-Ziegler Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
2Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
3Biological Sciences, Florida International University, University Park, Miami, Florida 33199 and Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, Florida 33156, USA

Tóm tắt

Throughfall volume and interception of bulk precipitation events were measured during individual rain events of differing magnitudes in a primary wet tropical forest at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. The relationship between canopy structure and throughfall were examined to identify key sources of spatial variation. Geostatistical analyses were also used to examine the spatial variation in throughfall, spatial autocorrelation and to determine minimum distances for independence of collectors. Throughfall volume was collected from 56 ground-based (funnel-style) collectors. Throughfall was collected for 26 separate precipitation events during July and August 1998. Per cent cover, distance to nearest tree, distance to nearest leaf were also estimated for each collection point. A weak relationship was found with per cent cover (r2 = 0.11). No relationship was found between throughfall and distance to the nearest leaf above the collector. Estimated interception was 1.88 mm (r2 = 0.94) with increased variance as bulk precipitation increased. A range distance of 45 m was estimated from variograms, strongly suggesting that large tree canopies and gaps are the source of much of the spatial variance in throughfall volume. Interception was reduced by 19% if only spatially independent collectors were used.

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Journal of Tropical Ecology

Tập 18 Số 3

397-407

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